illing at a prayer group. she says after giving her statement to a uniformed policeman she never heard from anyone in law enforcement. >> the police never got back to me. they never called me. nobody ever said anything. i was suspecting at least a detective or somebody to say something but nobody ever did. >> hernandez admits she cannot remember exactly when she made that report. as for the camden police department, well, they are not commenting, rob. >> three teens in tampa are in big trouble this morning after a prank caused a really serious injury. noah grant was hit in the eye with an egg. police say it was thrown from a speeding car as those teens wer. the impacted egg was so great that a bone near his eye was fractured. >> the egg being thrown out the window at such a high speed of

the vehicle makes the item travel at that same speed. and the fact that it just hit him right in that part of his eye caused the fracture, the purch puncture to his eyeball itself and the concussion he got. >> the teens now face felony battery charges. doctors have not decided if grant will need surgery. there's even a possibility he could lose his eye altogether. still no verdict in the john edwards campaign corruption trial. this morning, jurors enter their eighth day of deliberations. edwards is charged with six counts, all involving complex legal issues. and the number of documents that they've been asking to examine leads analysts to believe the panel might be divided. edwards faces up to 30 years in prison if he is convicted. mitt romney is celebrating his new status as the republican party's presidential candidate, though it won't be official until the conventio in august. he won the texas primary last night. romney thanked his supporters

and said, quote, this is only the beginning. he needed 1144 and he has 1183. >> boom there it is. it becomes official at the convention in august. all right, at the white house today, president obama gets his annual briefing about the new hurricane season. it does start friday. but yesterday completely different affair. >> the president was handing out medals of freedom to distinguished americans for their service to the nation. abc's karen travers joins us with details. good morning, karen. >> good morning, rob. good morning, paula. the president looked around the east room yesterday and noted how packed the room was. he said that was a testament to just how cool these honorees are. outstanding achievement. that's the common denominatar among medal of freedom recipients. president obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 13 political, cultural and athletic icons. >> what sets these men and women apart is the incredible impact they have had on so many people.

not in short, blinding bursts, but steadily over the course of a lifetime. >> reporter: among the honorees, a space pioneer, the first american to orbit the earth. >> john glenn became a hero in every sense of the word. >> reporter: the first female secretary of state. >> madeleine's courage and toughness helped bring peace to the balkans. >> the winningest coach in ncaa basketball history who is bringing her famous competitive drive to her own fight against alzheimer's. >> when i think about my two daughters who are tall and gifted and knowing that because of folks like coach summitt, they are standing up straight and diving after loose balls. >> and a rock legend who inspired generations with his songs. >> i remember, you know in college listening to bob dylan and my world opening up. >> reporter: the president said all of the honorees made an impact on his life and he counts

bob dylan and author tony morrison as personal hereos. rob and paula? >> thank you karen. he said about bob dylan, it's uniquely gravelly power redefining not just what the music sounded like but the message it carried and how it made people feel. the president said he was a big fan of bob dylan's music. he sat there expressionless throughout most of it. >> stoic. >> that's the -- >> what would it take for him to take his sunglasses off. >> he's bob dylan. >> he can do whatever he wants to do. >> congratulations to all of those honor ease yesterday. after one of the most anticipated initial stock offerings and rumors about expanding also to the cell phone market, well, facebook's stock price has plunged. at yesterday's close, facebook's stock was down nearly 10%. it closed near the $29 mark. facebook stock has now fallen 24% in july since going on sale earlier this month. and not -- >> did you buy stock? >> i did not. that's not the news most

expected. where does this leave ceo mark zuckerberg and his bottom line? with those most recent stock losses, zuckerberg's fort sun down to just a mere 14.7 billion bucks. that means he's no longer one of the world's 40 richest people, at least not for right now. but something tells me he'll get back in that list sooner than later. how will he eat in the meantime? >> this is a blip on the radar. things even out. >> did you buy stock? >> no. just in disney. our parent company. >> you are addicted to twitter. i'm addicted to facebook. we're a happy married couple. >> yes, we are, although you need to start complementing me with a red tie. mirchlths underwear is red. >> i did not need to know that. speaking of rich people, a spectacular gem just sold at auction. the pink diamond is unique because of its large, round shape. a similar diamond was given to queen elizabeth as a wedding

gift back in 1947. >> this one is called the marsian pink diamond. it's 12 carats. and after intense bidding in hong kong it sold for more than $17 million. that is nearly $1.5 million per carat. it was part of a huge jewelry sell-off by christie's. how would you like them diamonds, girl? >> i don't want them because i'd be too afraid i would lose them. >> i know. >> i can't get rid of my costume jewelry but like the nice jewelry, i lose. >> really? don't do that. >> wear the qvc stuff. >> i'm fine with that, actually. >> coming up next, one invention that stops drivers from texting. we'll see how it works. >> and later my trip to what could be a real life jurassic park. see why i liked it but my kids, not so much. they are still a little scarred. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now"

weather brought to you by just for men hair color. follow the wings.

welcome back, everyone. texting and driving last year led to more than 6,000 deaths. nearly 500,000 car accidents. >> and parents of teen drivers who can't stop texting have a big reason for concern. jim strickland reports on a device that now puts safety first. >> reporter: the bumper sticker is a constant reminder for mandy and anyone driving near her. her son caleb crashed and died in 2009 while texting. she wanted to see the cell control. >> this is awesome. i mean, you can guarantee that your kids are not going to be doing this while they are driving. >> see that right there? >> yes. that's great. >> reporter: i showed her video i shot earlier with company vice president chuck cox. he plugged the device into the same socket where they read your emissions test. >> teenagers, even parents won't

be able to text and drive. >> reporter: as i drove, he was in the passenger seat. whenever the car was moving, texting stopped dead. this screen is all you see. the user decides which phones get disabled and can even control which numbers the phone can voice call. >> we lose about 6,000 people a year to distracted driving and over 450,000 accidents. >> reporter: governor purdue had his doubts about enforcement when he signed caleb's law banning texting and all cell phone use for young drivers. cox said the law had an unintended backfire. >> when it wasn't illegal people would hold it up by the steering wheel. now they drop it down to their lap. as a consequence it's even more dangerous. >> reporter: he says the device can work in concert with parents who lead by example. >> they need to put their phone away as soon as they get in the car. that needs to be the rule. >> that was jeff strickland reporting from atlanta. this is our facebook question of

the day. do you think devices to block texting should be installed in all cars? let us know. go to wnnfans.com. sounds like a good idea. safety first. >> definitely something to think about for sure. we'll be back with more after this. >> announcer: abc's

this next story has real historic value. or should i say prehistoric? on top of that it's from my home state of new jersey. >> when i went to jersey i was expecting to see some "hair" and snooki. what i found was dynamite. >> reporter: if jurassic park ever invaded the nation's largest city, it would look like this. a rip roaring real-life dinosaur park. right across the river from manhattan. the state that hatched jersey shore.

>> this is the situation right here. my eyes are so ripped up it's called the situation. >> reporter: now has the closest thing to real dinosaurs that you'll ever see. and if this is what happens when "the real housewives" get angry, just imagine what this guy would do. field station dinosaurs has been guy's childhood dream. it features over 30 animatronic dinosaurs so realistic, they move, they blink, they even breathe. >> they follow your motion and they sense when the crowd gets big. >> reporter: okay. so maybe they are a little too realistic. at least for my children who were scared. >> it's okay, buddy. >> reporter: gacell poured his own money into the park. while he won't tell us how much the dinosaurs cost, they were expensive. >> i have maxed out every credit card. i have sold every asset that i

have. everything except my college, my kids' college fund, i've put into this park. >> reporter: the dinos were designed by a chinese company, paleo artists if you will and shipped halfway across the world in crates. a whole lot of them. >> how big is he? >> 90 feet long. the largest dinosaur that ever walked. >> reporter: the park tries to re-create the dinosaurs' national habitat. that is if you can block out the jersey turnpike. >> overall what kind of experience are you hoping people get out of this? >> we are really hoping that kids learn some stuff. that they learn how exciting science can be and that they become scientists. maybe not professional but the spirit of inquiry and solving mysteries and exploring the world. >> reporter: jurassic park, it's got nothing on jersey. >> cute. >> this totally blew my expectations out of the water.

it is so i could not believe it. >> your son definitely -- oh. >> i was wondering where you were. >> i got a little too close. they like dark meat. ooh oh ♪ ...and then there's the pillow. ♪ i dare you to dare me so they dared me to try this pantene. [ female announcer ] pantene anti-breakage the keratin protection system makes hair stronger reducing breakage up to 97%. ♪ think only salon brands can do that? i dare to compare... will you? [ female announcer ] anti-breakage from pantene. hair so healthy it shines.

>> announcer: "world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> welcome back, everybody. this story broke while i was on vacation last week. but it was big news in the media world so i'm going to get a little soap boxy. i apologize ahead of time. big news out of new orleans that the daily paper there, the "times picayune" which is 175 years old, actually is going to stop publishing except for three days a week to devote more resources to its website. and the process of layoff, a lot of its staff and reporters and as well as cut back on salaries and other things. so it's a transformation for that paper. and i -- it struck me particularly hard because it was my first job out of college where i was employed for "the

times picayune." i stayed there seven years. if you watch the show for any amount of time you know how much i love new orleans. i'll be back there this weekend. see a lot of these people work for the paper. they're going to find out whether they'll be able to stay or get a severance package. i wanted to make a larger point that this is such a hurtful and damaging decision for the city and for journalism as a whole. newspapers drive news coverage around the country but this decision will make new orleans the biggest city in this country without a daily newspaper. it's been around almost 200 years as we said. it it still a profitable paper. market penetration. so to do this, to water down the president really is incredibly sad. and i know those people who are about to get laid off some of them and what a tough time in that newsroom. i wanted to extend my thoughts and prayers to the folks down there. also a group on facebook called save the picayune. also friends of the times picayune. you can go there as well. there are efforts under way. if you know of any jobs in the

media, pr, jobs, newspapers, please send them to me. i'll pass them on to my friends and colleagues in new orleans. and i just hope that considering this was a paper whose homes were under water and they report on katrina. a city that's already lost so much in the years since the storm. >> you need a drink, rob. >> it's really, really tough. i hope the corporate bean counters who make these decisions realize that whether it's tv or newspapers, the goal is to be a public service, not to be a profit center. wake up and learn that and don't hurt a truly good city that -- >> i'm trying to get you to wake up. taco bell, they are testing out this drink. it's basically mountain due a.m. it's mountain due and orange juice. they are testing this out on their menus in california along with cinnabon delights fried dough balls. dew driver. what do you think? >> almost a caffeine kick.

>> you need something nels it besides orange juice. >>

this morning on "world news now" -- candidate's clinch. mitt romney gets the delegates he needs to win the gop nomination for president. >> his latest victory and questions about his alliance with donald trump. it's wednesday, may 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good hump day morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. is this our official favorite day of the week? >> friday -- friday, yeah. >> second favorite. >> second favorite. friday is definitely first. >> we're going to get to mitt romney's campaign advances. and we finally hear an apology from dharun ravi.

why did he wait so long to say that he was sorry. >> i think finally is the right word. even during the sentencing, the judge kind of scolded him verbally for, we have not seen remorse from you yet. he's finally showing that. almost seems a little too little, too late. also this morning, the 7-year-old wisconsin girl who was hit by an arrow while she walked down the street. she is now speaking in public. why police are trying to figure out who fired that arrow. >> the images we saw whenever it happened was last week, i was not able to get those out of my mind. just unbelievable she was able to survive something like that. and later this half hour, secrets of the supermarket reveal what you can do to be a smarter shopper and save money in the checkout lane. what you shouldn't do is forget a bag of groceries like i did today. >> you left it in the store after you paid for it.

>> i don't know if they didn't put it in the cart. there were like 12 things here on the list that i paid for that aren't here. >> exactly. also interesting thing about that story. you'll find out why they put the produce so close to the front of the supermarket. why the apples and oranges is close to the door when you walk in. but first it is unofficially official. mitt romney will be the republican party's 2012 presidential nominee. >> he did it by winning in last night's texas primary telling his supporters, quote, it's only the beginning. abc's karen trav sers in washgton with details. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. mitt romney won't be the official republican nominee until the convention in august. it took more than five months, and nearly 50 contests. but with his win yesterday, texas primary, mitt romney has finally reached the magic number of delegates to clinch the republican nomination. the presumptive republican nominee marked the milestone

with zero fanfare. he kept his focus on president obama. after all, their general election battle has been under way hot and heated for nearly two months. >> this president's policies made it harder for america to get on its feet again. >> reporter: later, romney raised campaign cash in las vegas with donald trump. >> we need to have presidents who understand how this economy works. >> reporter: the romney campaign is raveling off a dinner with the candidate and trump to raise money. but is the reality tv star, short life lived presidential candidate an ultimate shoo in more of a trouble? he's doubled down over obama's birth certificate, questioning whether the president was really born in the u.s. romney made no effort to correct trump on the discredited birther theory. >> i don't agree with all the people that support me. >> reporter: the trump issue shines a spotlight on the tight rope romney is walking.

he needs to apply to moderates but also has to keep the conservative base energized. the white house called the trump birther issue nonsense. and said the american people are fed up with it. rob and paula? >> i remember that moment at a forum in 2008 when a woman referred to the president as a muslim and john mccain famously kind of corrected her and said, no, ma'am, that's not it. it's amazing that romney will not correct what's been proven time and time and time again that is an untruth that the president was not born in this country. the man has already given you his birth certificate more than a year ago yet donald trump continues to make this an issue. >> whether it's valid and legitimate. i think that trump is doing him a disservice in the long run. instead of focusing on jobs and the economy which is what mitt romney is going to run on, he is definitely doing him a disservice. but then again, you know what? he might get those votes he might not have gotten otherwise. >> we did an abc news poll where

20% of the people believe the president was born in another country. a year later that number was down to 10%. a small number but still a sizable portion of folks out there who buy what donald is saying. >> conspiracy theorists. >> it seems to be it should have been a nonissue a long time ago. interesting to see how that's playing out. going to switch gears to this other story. people in san juan, texas, are looking for a drive-by shooter who opened fire outside of a polling place. a campaign worker wasit in the leg during the incident. police have not yet determined whether the shooting was actually politically motivated. the former rutgers university student who was convicted of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate is apologizing publicly for the first time. dharun ravi's statement said he's sorry for his thoughtless, immature, insensitive and stupid choices. he's foregoing an appeals process and will serve his 30-day jail sentence tomorrow as ordered by the judge. he says that's because he just

wants to move on with his life. his former roommate tyler clementi committed suicide after his gay encounter was caught on the webcam. we are hearing from the young girl in wisconsin who was shot in the back with an arrow last week. she's recovering pretty well, even as police are still seeking the person who fired the arrow. emily metesek reports. >> reporter: released from children's hospital in milwaukee on friday, aryanna has no problem showing everyone her wounds or talking about what happened to her. >> i was walking on the sidewalk and the arrow just came. >> reporter: the arrow stuck in the girl's back, traveled through her chest wall, diaphragm and scleen before ending fup her liver. >> first when it happened, when they finally told us everything that was hit by the arrow, i was devastated. i thought it was going to be a super long road of recovery. and now i'm just grateful. >> reporter: the public's

interest in this case is one of the reasons laura beth made her daughter available to answer questions. she along with investigators are hoping whoever shot the arrow will see how well the little girl is doing and will come forward. >> we know it was an accident. we know somebody didn't do it on purpose. so we just -- we just wish they would come forward and say they did it. >> just come forward and tell us what happened. it's that simple. tell us what happened. sit down with us. walk us through it. and we'll take it from there. >> reporter: in the meantime, investigators are recanvassing the neighborhood where this incident happened. hoping someone knows something that will help to solve this case. >> there's a $500 reward in the case so far. she's not well enough to go back to class just yet but is going to visit her first grade classmates soon.

>> you just hear about the extent of what that arrow did and the fact she was so resilient and able to recover from that is just amazing. she says the hardest spart the stitches because the stitches, everything itches and that's because it's healing. >> she has to stay steaill. and she's a young little girl. >> kids bounce back from a lot of things. search crews in northern italy are digging through the rubble of the second powerful earthquake to rock the region in just the last nine days. one person still missing. 16 are known dead. and at least 350 are injured after the 5.8 quake. among those injured, a woman trapped inside her collapsed apartment building for 12 hours until rescuers pulled her out. a powerful line of thunderstorms ripped through parts of kentucky wreaking havoc on drivers. they had to rescue an 85-year-old woman from this swollen creek. her car slammed through a fence, plunged into the fast-moving water. she was pulled to safety with just minor injuries.

floodwaters also seeped into buildings at the university of louisville forcing the school to cancel classes. and a wave of severe weather left a big mess in the northeast. hail, 60-mile-an-hour winds and to rential rain blew in from pennsylvania up to new england. toppling trees, ripping up roads and triggering flash flooding out there. the weather service issued some tornado warnings in new hampshire and massachusetts, but thankfully there were no reports of any major damage or injuries. the northeast was baking in scorching heat. public schools in philadelphia actually closed early as temps there shot into the 90s. also humidity soared as well. all students were let go about 1:30 in the afternoon so they wouldn't have to suffer through classes without air conditioning. makes you wonder why there are any schools left in this country that do not have air conditioning. >> my daughter's school doesn't have air conditioning. >> kids can't learn when they are sweating all over their desk. it should be a priority. >> that's why we don't have school in the summer.

well, a lot of the schools don't -- some of them are year round. on that note, here's your wednesday weather. morning thunderstorms for portland, maine, to d.c. remnants of beryl bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the carolinas. severe weather with a chance of tornados in the plains from wichita to dallas and windy with showers in the northern rockies. >> 77 in salt lake city. 87 in albuquerque. 99 in phoenix. >> oh, yeah. it's warming up. >> 66 in the twin cities. 70 in omaha and 90s from dallas to miami. 82 here in new york. 81 in bean town. they say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. we present this from a traffic-clogged highway near philadelphia. some bikini clad drivers and at least one trucker playing a frisbee game. let's let you guess which one is the trucker. >> wonder why he got out. >> he's not even playing. he's just watching. kind of creepy.

>> they're going to be there for a while. a multivehicle accident up ahead made sure the road would be closed for a few hours. so guess all that frisbee playing is better than sitting in a sweltering car having to sing along doing whatever you do in traffic. but the -- >> oh, the trucker with the tank top finally got involved there. >> good times for everybody. >> just driving in her bikini. i wonder if -- >> no, she just had it underneath, i'm sure. i can't throw a frisbee, by the way. i'm very athletic, but the release point. coming up -- the junk that falls from jets. it's happening more than you may think. >> money making ploys from the supermarket. what store managers don't want you to know. rob is going to reveal all of his secrets coming up. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by bounty extra soft paper.

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the united nations has asked the world to help with a new humanitarian crisis and a part

of the world that most of us have never even seen. the u.n. said that 18 million people are in danger. 3 million children on the brink of starvation. abc's bosi kanani travelled to africa for our series "a cry for help." >> we find the hut used to store grain empty. because of the drought and crop failure, mothers like mariama are struggling to feed their families. >> so this is what she has cooked for her family today. >> leaves she goes out to pick from trees are the only food she has. >> i don't think any of us can accept that this mother has to go and pick wild food for her children to eat. if she doesn't go and do it every day then they don't have anything to eat. >> reporter: in other parts of the country where aid agencies have been able to reach, we find long lines of women desperate for the help. this mother came to get food for her 2-month-old son. he's barely alive.

at rural health clinics, children are weighed and measured. red on the arm band means severe malnutrition. doctors are seeing more and more of it every day. this child is a year old. really? little nafisa weighs barely more than a newborn. she'll get moved into these lines to get special nutritional supplements. but aid agencies say these supplies are limited and they need more before it's too late. >> these people, these women, these children, they deserve our attention. they deserve our time. >> reporter: aid agencies are trying to help as many people as they can. so far they've been able to raise not even half of the funds they need to reach the millions of families who will run out of food before the next harvest this fall. bosi kanani, abc news, niger. >> that will put our problem ooze. >> sobering. >> wow. if you do want to donate and i'm motivated to do it after seeing that go to our fan page,

wnnfans.com and find out some charities you can donate to. >> the things we're worried about, it puts it in a whole new light. >> all about perspective. >> we encourage you to go to our website as well and help if you can. coming up next -- hunks of airline junk falling from the sky. >> the growing threat after this week's care from a jumbo jet. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: abc's "world news now"

♪ welcome back, everyone. investigators confirm that shocking incident from monday that sent debris through the sky was, in fact, part of an air canada jet engine. >> luckily passengers were all okay. but incidents where plane parts fall from the sky actually happen a lot more than you may think. >> great. >> jim avila explains.

>> reporter: canadian aviation authorities confirmed it was raining hot metal. >> i picked it up. it was really hot. >> reporter: shards from the air canada 777 engine that fell thousands of feet. red hosmissiles damaging four cars. >> we've had a failure of some type which has resulted in the back end of the engine basically fall apart. >> reporter: the faa says falling debris is rare but parts do occasionally fall from all over the plane, endangering those on the ground. this 747 fuselage panel landed in a miami mall parking lot two years ago. in 2000, 747 engine parts scattered sunbathers at an l.a. beach. in 2010, the world's biggest plane, a qantas a380 nearly crashed when its engine fell apart on takeoff. this must have made for a tough landing. a british plane lost the wheels on its landing gear somewhere over the english country side.

and fuselage breakups can be scare eeven deadly for those in the air, too. a flight attendant was ejected when an aloha airlines 737 ripped wide open sending debris flying. >> something comes out and it's hot coming down from high altitude. you don't want to be in the way. >> reporter: even when engines break up at the most critical time, the good news for passengers is that by law these jets have enough power in the second engine to climb and return safely. >> that was a single engine landing. >> reporter: exactly what the air canada pilot performed with 318 lives on the line. jim avila, abc news, washington. >> how scary that it happens more than you think? >> makes you want to look up every now and then, too. >> i'm flying this weekend, too. now i'm all nervous. >> that same air canada jet was involved in a little bit of an incident like three years ago

when it hit about six geese on its descent. >> bird strikes. you hear a lot about that, too. >> look up. follow the wings.

♪ rob, all i'm going to say is our viewers will thank us later for this next story. >> i like that song. >> i thought you were like some old moves. like old man moves. >> ladies love it. >> we're going to let you in on some secrets that will make you a smarter, maybe a sexier shopper when you head to the grocery store. >> you know that dance they do. fill the cart. fill the cart. you ever see that? >> you are embarrassing me, dad. >> abc's weky whirley has teamed up with reader's digest and has

some store secrets to save you big. >> reporter: aisle after aisle, shelf after shelf, the average grocery store stocks over 50,000 items. and a few new secrets to help you be the savviest shopper around. ah, the smell of fresh baking. well, kind of fresh. with a few exceptions, most of the items in the store bakeries are trucked in frozen. no! well, if the doughnuts aren't fresh, let's head to the produce department. good news. secret number two, produce prices are 30% lower than a year ago. and what the heck. let's get crazy with the healthy eating talk. you've heard about shopping the perimeter to avoid the bad food? but stores have changed their tactics. secret three, the temptations are now everywhere. treat the supermarket like an obstacle course. turn your back on the end caps and weave around the speed bumps. those are the center aisle

displays loaded with impulse buys. now loyalty program. my local grocery store lucky has one people like. instead of a break on your groceries you purchases get you gas discounts. next secret, 30% of the purchases we make at grocery stores are impulse busy. ooh, pinwheels. and studies show the bigger the grocery cart, the more impulse purchases you make. the antidote, put the kibosh on the cart and get a basket. i'm just too lazy to fill this up with heavy stuff that's not on my list. okay. last secret. since 2003, the number of men doing the household shopping has doubled. so some stores are creating man aisles full of impulse buys that appeal to the dad shopper. don't we already have that? it's called the bacon section. becky whorley, abc news, oakland, california. >> bacon. >> do love that bacon section.

amazing the marketing that goes into the layout of a grocery store.

this morning on "world news now" -- killer quake. the second major jolt in a week and a half puts italy on edge. >> the victims and the search for survivors in an area that's not considered even earthquake prone. it's wednesday, may 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm paula faris. this is rob nelson's second favorite day of the week besides friday. >> hump day. that's right. we'll take you to italy in just a second for the dramatic rescue of a woman trapped in earthquake debris. and then the nasty storms hitting the northeast and why beryl could deliver yet another punch before finally heading out to sea.

also this morning, with beach season upon us, researchers say you can take a very common pill found in your medicine cabinet to lower your skin cancer risk. but will it make me look any better in a bathing suit? i don't think so. that's what i'm really worried about. >> people are so worried about the tan. no one wants to be all -- no one wants to be like the pasty person on the beach. i get it. but it comes with so many risks. stay tuned. also later in this half hour, what mary j. blige has to say about money missing from her charity. is it enough of an explanation we'll get the details coming up in the daily dose of "the skinny." >> can't wait for today's "skinny." >> good stuff. first, that dramatic rescue from the rubble of italy's latest earthquake. >> a woman who was retrieving some belongings from her already quake-damaged building got trapped when it collapsed right on top of her. she was stuck there for 12 hours until crews managed to find her and pull her out. abc's jeffrey kofman is in northern italy in the middle of the devastation.

>> reporter: as the ground shook, the buildings tumbled. it hit during this newscast sending the news reader fleeing from the studio. but for people here, it's as if the quakes don't stop. a staggering 800 aftershocks since the first big quake hit this region on may 20th killing seven. we thought the worst was over, she says. thousands still living in tents after that first quake now joined by a new wave of homeless and at least 16 more dead. the mayor of hard-hit mirandola says we have to start not from zero but from below zero. seismologists tell us when they see this many earthquakes happen with this frequency, it's a sobering sign the seismic terror here isn't likely to end any time soon. jeffrey kofman, abc news, cavezzo, italy. >> we want to get a little technical. like a 6-point magnitude

earthquake maybe in california will not feel like a 6 point magnitude in italy because in california, the plates are going to rub against each other, but in italy, they will actually slide around on top of each other. >> different kind of motion. >> you mentioned earlier there was a mild earthquake out in malibu last night. >> a 4.0 off the coast of malibu. obviously, 4.0 in terms of what californians are used to, that is not a big deal so this one, in light of that story, wanted to put that out there as well. keep an eye on that throughout the morning. so far, no serious reports. speaking of weather, severe storms raked over the northeast well into the night unleashing some high winds, hail and drenching downpours. too much rain came down too fast in eastern pennsylvania pushing creeks and streams out of their beds. trees and power lines snapped in new york, and tornado warnings were issued as far north as new hampshire. even stormier in the southern plains where the oklahoma city area was getting pounded by gusty winds and large hail. the hail storm was accompanied

by one reported twister. powerful winds blew out windows and left more than 50,000 folks without power. a wild couple of days in weather. >> hail. looks like golf balls bouncing around in the yard. the remnants of beryl are still menacing the southeastern coast this morning after dumping as much as ten inches of rain in georgia. forecasters are warning that flash flooding is now likely. as the storm slowly approaches the carolina coast, they are scrambling to restore power. beryl is the strongest tropical storm to hit the atlantic coast before the start of hurricane season in more than 100 years. and hurricane season officially begins june 1st. >> friday. two days from now. always an anxious day for folks in certain parts of the country. here we go again. here's your wednesday weather now, everybody. have some rain here in the northeast from new england down to d.c. thunderstorms along the gulf coast. more stormy weather and possible tornadoes from north texas into oklahoma and kansas. showers from montana and wyoming. also a windy day across the rockies. >> it is near 80 in boise.

67 in seattle. 85 in sacramento. dallas climbing to 95. can use some air conditioning there. kansas city, 77 and chicago, 69. 80s from boston to atlanta and 90 in new orleans. >> yesterday was the first day i cranked up both acs. finally hit that point. i was like, yep, summer is here. >> we have window air. do you have -- >> yeah, window things. there's no central air in these old buildings. >> we have one right now in our unit. >> for all four of you? >> yes, we're sweating a little bit. a fan and some extra deodorant. >> so noted. now mitt romney is the republican presidential candidate. >> it's finally official. romney got more than enough delegates with his primary last night in texas. a victory there for the governor. abc's karen travers is in washington with all the details. good morning to you, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, paula. mitt romney won't be the official republican nominee

until the convention in august, but he has finally reached the magic number of delegates to clinch the nomination. it took more than five months and nearly 50 contests, but with his win in yesterday's texas primary, mitt romney finally reached the magic number of delegates to clinch the republican nomination. yesterday romney marked the milestone with zero fanfare. he kept his focus on president obama. after all, their general election battle has been under way hot and heated for nearly two months. later romney raised campaign cash in las vegas with donald trump. the two look like old pals. the romney campaign even ravel -- raffling off a dinner with the candidate and trump to raise money. but is the reality tv star short-lived presidential candidate an ultimate show-in more a nuisance than a help. trump has doubled down on his skepticism over president obama's birth certificate, questioning whether the president was really born in the u.s.

asked about it on monday, romney made no effort to correct trump on the discredited birther theory. >> a lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate. >> how can you say that if the -- >> they will not report it, wolf. but many do not think it was authentic. >> you see the birth announcement back in 1961. >> yes, and people did that and they put -- i'm listening, wolf. >> can you stop defending obama? >> donald, you are beginning to sound a little ridiculous. >> no, i think you are, wolf. >> reporter: it shines a spotlight on the tight rope romney is walking. he needs to appeal to moderates but has to keep the conservative base fired up. the white house called the trump birther issue nonsense and said the american people are fed up with it. rob and paula? >> thanks, karen. it is sad and pathetic this debate is still going on. an obama campaign spokesman said this. if romney lacks the backbone to stand up to a charlatan like donald trump because he's concerned about lining his

campaign pockets, what does that say about the kind of president he would be. that's the obama campaign's response to romney. just amazing he's not distancing himself further from something already proven time and time again to be untrue. >> and what was the -- you threw out a number off camera. is it 10% of americans still believe -- >> according to a survey last spring, 10% of the country still believes obama was born in another country. >> romney might need that 10% to get over the hump. >> there must be a political calculation that can help him. maybe helps him with the very conservative base of the party. who knows. but the issue just will not die, that's for sure. all right. shifting gears now, jurors in the john edwards campaign corruption trial will resume deliberations for an eighth day. edwards along with his parents and his daughter cate left a north carolina courtroom. still no verdict in hand. jurors are plowing through 17 days of testimony and about 500 exhibits as well. legal analysts say that creates plenty of potential for disagreement.

>> the amount of documents they've been asking for could indicate that there are -- there's a split and some jurors are trying to use those documents, that evidence to effectively make a case to other jurors to prove their side. >> the judge says jurors can work an extra 30 minutes today and tomorrow if necessary so they can leave early on friday to accommodate some family commitments. a two-time world champion boxer is paralyzed from the waste down after a tragic accident in georgia. police say that paul "the punisher" williams was driving his motorcycle too fast when he crashed into an embankment on sunday. he was thrown off his bike, severed his spine, landed on his back, his head. no other vehicles were involved in the incident. and the judge in the sexual abuse case against former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky could rule today on a privacy request filed by several of his alleged victims. sandusky, his attorneys and prosecutors met with the judge yesterday. now three of his alleged victims

are seeking to have their identities kept secret during sandusky's trial which is set to begin next week. >> a plea deal still possible. we'll see how it plays out. after calling 24 witnesses in 19 days of testimony, the prosecution in the perjury trial of former pitching great roger clemens has finally rested. clemens' attorneys immediately asked the judge to dismiss the case. that was denied. his defense, meanwhile, is expected to take about two weeks. the seven-time cy young award winner is accused of lying to congress when he said he never used steroids. enough of the legalese. time for the talk of the tennis world and an historic happening at the french open at roland garros. >> the second grand slam event of the year did got too well for serena williams. she actually lost in the first round of a major tournament for the first time ever in her career. >> that's shameful. williams had won 46 straight first rounders before losing yesterday to virginie rozzano of france. many thought williams would win

the tournament. it would have been her 14th major title. all streaks do come to an end, but she made 47 unforced errors. >> she didn't blame the injury for the loss. said she's 100% healthy. just had a bad day. >> we all have those. >> don't we? coming up, the pill in your medicine cabinet that could lower your cancer risk. >> later, the elaborate scheme at the ballpark to surprise a military wife. we can't wait to show you. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by colonial penn life insurance. follow the wings.

♪ ♪ do the humpty hump you remember that. hump day. >> every wednesday, right? >> every wednesday.

give people something to look forward to. get over that hump. >> we just aren't ever going to tell them when we're going to play it. just to keep you on the edge of your seat. >> keep those ratings up. a big new study says common drugs may help protect against skin cancer. >> specifically pain relievers, things you actually have in your medicine cabinet. sharyn alfonsi brings us these new findings. >> reporter: on a day like today, millions of americans are armed with sunscreen and hats. but now the encouraging possibility that there could be a new weapon in the war against skin cancer. aspirin. yep, aspirin. a new study shows that people who took a low dose of aspirin or ibuprofen every day for three years are less likely to develop squamous cell and malignant melanoma. >> this is very significant. if you were to take 100 people who have basil cell carcinoma, maybe 15 would not have gotten it if they were taking a lot of aspirin. >> reporter: and the anti-cancer benefit was even greater for

those who took aspirin for seven years at a higher dose. why? one theory is aspirin counters cancer growth by suppressing inflammatory pathways, sort of blocking a tumor's ability to expand. michael georgeson has been taking it for years to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. but recent studies show aspirin might also prevent his risk of other types of cancer. >> all the more reason to take it. >> reporter: still, taking an aspirin every day isn't for everyone. just one a day even with food can cause fatal bleeding. so while researchers continue looking at the benefits of aspirin, doctors say this summer, the best bet under the sun is still sunscreen. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> still lather up, folks. just lather up. >> so important. coming up, an explanation from mary j. blige regarding some financial issues. we knew she had something to say about that. >> she does. and the hot singer who is putting a lot more skin into "the skinny." we'll be right back. >> announcer: abc's "world news

now" will continue after this from our abc stations.

♪ skinny so skinny ♪

welcome back, everybody. time for the wednesday "skinny." we told you this story yesterday about mary j. blige having some kind of financial drama. she has this charity all about the advancement of women. it's a great cause but kind of came to light it was having some pretty serious financial issues here that it was -- it had defaulted on a big loan from td bank. hadn't paid some stars who performed at a benefit concert and there were some questionable expenses as well. now mary j. is speaking out and addressing all the reports out there. she says as founder and ceo of this group, i am ultimately responsible for anything that goes wrong. the problem is i didn't have the right people in the right places doing the right things. this should never have been allowed to happen, but it did, and now we are fixing it. she says i'm the ceo of this thing. i take responsibility. maybe she had some bad people around her. hopefully they'll correct it and get it back on the right track. she's a great role model for a lot of reasons and a superstar and certainly is good financially.

hopefully she'll get her charity good financially as well. mary j. addressing the drama. >> just a reminder to surround yourself with good people. did you ever think that rihanna was a little self-conscious about her body and didn't like to pose nude? >> self-conscious about what? >> apparently she is very self-conscious about her body and has just revealed some new racy photos of herself and her new photo shoot because she is releasing a new perfume called nude. who would have thought. >> she's not just doing something for sex appeal. she's keeping within the theme of the product. i love it. smart business. >> i think it's ironic that she doesn't like showing off her body even though she's posted photos of herself in -- topless in a waterfall in hawaii, photos of herself showering with strippers on twitter and now she has a nude perfume. so, there you go. >> but she says posing nude helps her overcome her issues.

that's what she -- i'm just -- >> all righty then. >> i'm just letting you know. >> i've got a lot of issues. i don't think i'm going to pose nude anytime soon. >> she has nothing to be self-conscious about. >> no, she doesn't. >> rihanna, no complaints from this side of the desk over here. also, "diff'rent strokes" from years ago. ♪ arnold and mr. drummond. ♪ i don't know the words, but i remember the beat. i know the chorus. sad news, though. todd bridges who played about willis. he is getting divorced. he announced it on twitter. he's now 47 years old. he's had his past brushes with the law, some drug addiction issues. cleaned up his act a little bit and is getting divorced from his wife of, i think, 14 years. they have a 13-year-old son together. says, look, we simply grew apart. further, we still remain friends but we're moving on. he said i didn't want the media to find out so that's why he tweeted it himself. we wish todd all the best. thank you for being part of a

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♪ baby what a big surprise right before my very eyes ♪ that was a little high. >> but you can sing. unlike me. >> every now and then. that's all right. we're working on your vocals. now to our favorite story of the day. an air force sergeant who had been serving in afghanistan pulled off the ultimate surprise. his family wasn't expecting him back for a few more weeks. >> but in the fifth inning of the braves game they got a grand slam surprise.

jeff doer from our atlanta affiliate has more on the very happy homecoming. >> out there for six months and i'm very happy to be back home safe now. >> reporter: but master sergeant david sims would put it off for 5 1/2 innings. he zoomed in on the stands trying to spot his wife and four kids. he told them he couldn't get home from afghanistan for a few more weeks. but the braves and air force planned a surprise on the field. >> i'm pretty emotional about it. i'm missing them for six months now. glad to be reunited with them. >> reporter: last time he deployed, he surprised her by coming home out of a christmas package. the plan was they would walk on the field to represent all the families of military members overseas. >> please welcome today hometown heroes, the sims family. >> reporter: and then they'd get a surprise. a video he recorded in afghanistan. and then, another surprise. >> i can't wait to be with you again. in fact, wait one minute.

>> i was very surprised. i was -- no way! >> i almost had a heart attack. >> reporter: there's that rule about not surprising your wife in front of 40,000 people. >> she did punch me in the chest. >> reporter: but clearly she forgave him in an instant. >> love those reactions. >> those stories never get old. so good here. so incredible, too. and that one was particularly well choreographed. intricate. had the video. had the whole ruse going on. then he walks out. not just your average pop in a classroom story. he made a thing out of it in front of all those tens of thousands of folks. >> that sweet little kiss. good for that family. >> we'll be seeing that scene playing out more and more. more from abc next. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.